


The Caelum Siblings: Noctis' story

by Yunasuki



Series: The Caelum Siblings [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Ending, Fix It Fic, Gen, Sibling AU, angst with happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 17:26:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20510729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yunasuki/pseuds/Yunasuki
Summary: Prince Noctis had a turbulent childhood. He's had a lot placed on his shoulders from the very beginning, but with his siblings and friends by his side he will overcome all odds and change the fate of Eos!This is a prologue to the story of how Noctis defies the gods and saves the world.Yet to come: Noct coming into his powers, Noct teasing Ravus, Noct and Luna supporting each other, Noct's friendship with Iggy and Gladio, Noct getting creeped out by Ardyn, Noct seeing eye to eye with Ardyn, Prince Noctis meeting Prince Prompto- yes I said prince!An alternate ending we all know we wanted.





	The Caelum Siblings: Noctis' story

**Author's Note:**

> Happy (belated) birthday Noct! I had high hopes to get this third installment of the Caelum Siblings out as my birthday gift to Noctis, and what better way than to tell the tale of his young beginnings? However procrastination and adulting struck and his gift is a little late. This is chapter 1 but it's kinda more like a prologue. There's no 'meat' to this at all and is just giving us a little back story on Noct before the 'real' story starts. If you are new the the Siblings series, it is going to be a 3 part monstrosity telling Luna's, Ravus' and Noct's story of growing up, finding themselves and saving the world (in their own way). Each part will be a completed stand alone story, but they will also weave together to tell the complete tale to the 3 Caelum siblings. Much of the FFXV timelines and events remain the same with the main canon divergence just being that they are related. This is 100% due to my guilty pleasure of wanting to pair Luna and Noct off with other people.   
I hope you enjoy this little teaser of what's to come, but full disclosure I plan to finish Luna's story up to a point, then bring Ravus' up to speed and finally have Noct's story wrap it up. in other words unless this has a ton to peeps clamoring for more, it's gonna be a while before this part of the series updates.

Noctis Lucis Caelum's birth is cause for kingdom wide celebration, well, for most of the kingdom anyways. His mother Aulea couldn't be happier when she sees his violet eyes and dark mop of hair. His big sister Lunafreya, nearly 5 years his elder, coos and fawns over him openly, barely able to contain her excitement. His big brother Ravus, 9 years his senior, acts indifferent but kisses the top of his head when he thinks no-one is looking. But is father, king Regis, finds Noctis' birth bitter sweet, for he knows that this is the child of prophecy. A child whose eyes glow with magic and destiny. A child with more than the weight of the crown thrust upon him, indeed as decreed by the astrals this babe was to be the chosen one, the ‘True King’, the bringer of light. A fate that sounds glorious, but Regis knew better. Knew the games and prophecies of the gods. Knew the tragic role this new baby boy would surely play. 

Noctis was a quiet child, usually to be found napping or tottering behind his sister Luna. She would tell him about the flowers in the garden, about the animals roaming the grounds or about the fish in the decorative ponds. She would gather him up in her lap and read him the stories of the astrals and the history of Eos. Sometimes they would watch big brother Ravus at the training grounds. Little Noct would watch in awe the way the young teenager would make a sword seem to dance or the intensity when brother sparred with other big kids. Together they would cheer on their big brother who would act annoyed, but his proud half smile said otherwise.

When both of his siblings became too busy to play with him, Noctis was introduced to a boy just a few years older than him. He remembers hiding behind his father when the new boy came to live at the Citadel. He was nervous at first, he had never played with someone close to his age, or even any other children beside his siblings, but this boy wore glasses and a smile that made him feel at ease. His name was Ignis, and Noct thought that it suited the boy who others assumed was so studious and reserved, but he could sense a passion for life burning behind those emerald eyes. And although he liked Ignis, the other boy always seemed to keep him at an arm’s length away, stating what was and wasn’t ‘proper’ for a prince.

Noctis remembers one particularly boring day, curling up one day on his mother's lap while she ran her fingers through his hair. 

"Momma? When will I get to go to training?"

"Dear Noctis… don't be in such a hurry to grow up. All too soon you will be grown from prince to king. It's ok to stay little a little longer."

He squirms a bit to get comfortable on her. 

"Hey mamma? Why will I be the king? Shouldn't Ravus be the king? That way I can stay a prince and do whatever I want."

"Ravus will be a great man and a great leader someday, but it is not in his destiny to be the king of Lucis."

"Oh. Well when I'm king I'm going to ban all vegetables from Insomnia!"

Aulea can't help but laugh, "but then your people will die of poor nutrition."

He turns over in her lap again. 

"Hmm… Then I guess I’ll just ban vegetables for the king.”

“Then won't you be in poor health? You really ought to eat more vegetables Noctis.”

“You sound like Ignis…”

The queen laughs again, “Then he is a good man and council to have by your side”

Noct sits up on her lap, “Man!? But he’s just a boy still.” He lights up why a new train of thought hits him, “Momma! Did you know there’s a god holding up a meteor!? He’s still there! Alive just standing there holding a big rock! Isn’t that crazy?”

She strokes his hair again. “Yes I did know that. Who did you learn that from?”

“Luna told me, read me a story. A bunch of stories about the asterals, how they created Eos, about a great wars, about lost civilizations-”

“Well aren't you a clever little one.” she tries to tickle him but he just squirms right off her lap.

“I wanna see him! The giant Astral holding up the meteor. Can we go, momma, please!?”

Aulea would have taken him anyways, after all it's part of his destiny to interact with the astrals, but the way those pleading blue eyes bore into her melted her heart and assured the answer he hoped to hear.

“Of course we can go. Tomorrow, in fact.”

“Really!? That’s so cool! Luna and Ravus and Ignis will be so happy! This is going to be awesome!”

He’s on his little feet now, unable to contain his excitement. Aulea holds him by the shoulders and makes him stop and look at her. “Noctis, dear, let’s just make it the two of us.” His face falls a fraction, “The others are terribly busy, and we did make up our minds to go without much warning.”

“Then uncle Cor can take us! I know dad is busy...”

“Sorry, love, I think Cor is out on assignment already, we’ll just have to gather whatever crownsguard we can and make the best of it. It’ll still be fun! I know you’re gonna love it!”

Noct didn’t love it. He had a headache that grew in intensity as they drove closer to their destination. He had never felt pain like this before, like bees buzzing in his head and running into the sides of his skull. His mother tried to comfort him, unbuckled him and pulled him into her lap so she could stroke through his hair. She never stopped talking in a soothing voice. She talked about astrals, about chocobos, about anything until he nodded off to sleep. 

He was awoken by a crash that jolted him off his mother’s warm lap. She’s grabbing him and pushing him out of the cozy car. It’s raining out. She’s screaming for him to run, tugging him by the wrist. She shoves him in front of her, he doesn’t know where he’s going, it’s wet and he doesn’t know where he is, everything is too much for him. There’s loud noises and yelling and guns and the crunch of metal. Aulea stops running behind him. Stops to see what’s happening. Little Noct stops to turn when he doesn’t sense her next to him. He wishes he didn’t. Wishes he could unsee the terror behind them. 

A daemon is shrieking and slashing her way through the body guards without mercy. It’s the thing of nightmares. The daemon is a giant snake women creature, and she’s hungry. Noct shudders, instincts and adrenaline kick in and for a moment he is no longer scared, but feel a strange urge to fight even though he is but an unarmed boy. Aulea looks back at him and sees his eyes burning intense violet. 

“Noctis no! We must run!” She turns and runs for him, urging him forward and away from the monster. They run together through the mud. They don’t get far. Noctis is knocked to the ground. The last thing he remembers before blacking out is his back searing like it's on fire, and then nothing…

He’s floating through a purple void. There are voices but he can’t understand them. Blue lights. Arguing. Pain. Nothingness. Dizzy. Falling. White light. Something warm… Lunafreya? More voices… his dad? Crying? Hands through his hair. Mom? No, Ravus? Someone beside him, reading, holding his hand, trying to feed him… Ignis.

“Ignis?” His voice was frail and creaky from disuse.

“Thank the gods! Your majesty. Noctis! You’re awake! Here, don’t move. Let me get someone.”

“Momma… I want my mom.”

“Err… I’m afraid she’s unavailable… Everyone is at the service right now… oh dear… I feel it’s not really me place to tell you. But I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you awake.”

Noctis cried himself to sleep that night. And for the next few nights, until there were no more tears left to come out. He felt like an empty shell. A broken body hosting a broken soul. The doctors told Regis that he would probably never walk again. Luna would prove them wrong with her newly awakened healing powers even if it killed her. Luckily for everyone, she pulled it off. 

Between Luna’s gentle care and Ignis’s constant attention, gradually the light came back to Noctis’s eyes. Slowly he started to be a little boy again. Slowly he continued to heal. The scars were irreversible, but Noctis’s family refused to let him give up. Even Regis cleared most of his schedule the first few months after Aulea’s passing to tend to Noct’s healing. Ravus was scarce, but visited him every night before bed, even if he only wished him goodnight.

For a while life revolved around Noctis, his care, his upbringing, his health. And one by one, everyone got busy again and life carried on. Everyone but Ignis. Ignis was the one constant in Noct’s life. Even when he didn’t want him around, even when he wanted some privacy to brood in his bedroom alone, Ignis was there, pushing him to do better. And for a long while that became the new norm. Of course Luna would visit him as often as she could, but now that she was official the Oracle in training, her time was limited, she was always off with that creepy lady. Ravus had always acted too old and too important and too busy to pay much mind to Noct, but he seemed increasingly distant since the accident. Regis and uncle Cor would take him fishing from time to time, but even those trips faded away with time.

Just before the young prince turns 10 years old he has a strange dream… he doesn’t remember much of it, but it’s snowing outside and he hears those strange voices again like when he was in the coma.

The next day is a buzz. Something big is going on in Insomnia. He later learns that it is something big going on that affects all of Eos. The Nifflhiem army has taken down the Astral Shiva in her giantess form. He remembers the conversation with Ignis. He remembers being angry.

“How do you kill a god!? Why would anyone want to? The Niffs are so stupid! What is wrong with them? The gods created us, created Eos! I don’t understand.”

“Calm down your majesty. I shall endeavor to inform you of everything I know on the matter. Firstly, it is my understanding that the Nifflhiem army used giant airships and mechanical weapons to fell Shiva. As to why I can only conjecture that greed for power has something to do with the why. I also believe that Shiva the god is not dead, merly having to take an alternate form of existence or she’s in need of what some would call a hibernation or sorts, tho I’m not an expert on the matter. You may wish to inquire to Princess Lunafreya or Lady Gentiana for greater details. On a different note, you may let your feelings talk about the stupidity of the Nifflhiem empire, but their deeds recently would prove otherwise. It would behoove you to never take them or their technology lightly. I do hope I have been able to enlighten you on the subject.”

“Ignis… really!?”

After Shiva fell, more and more reports of daemons attacking reached the ears of Insomnia. Rumors spread that the nights were growing longer and that the ancient plague known as the starscourge was once again popping up across Eos. Nocts nights were constantly berated by nightmares of darkness and daemons, war and fire. He slept less and less soundly, and as if his agitation was a reflection of discord spreading throughout Eos, Nifflhiem decided to go into active war with Lucis again. 

It was decided that Noctis should start his weapons training as soon as possible. A young teen just 4 years his senior was given the role to train the prince. At first young Noctis was put off that he wouldn’t have a seasoned adult trainer, he was hoping it would be uncle Cor. But after weeks of training and Noct had spent more time on his backside than holding a weapon, he was regretting not having an adult for another reason. 

An adult would have gone slow with him. An adult would have gone easy on him, well maybe not Cor… but Gladiolus had not given him one inch of sympathy for being a prince.In fact he thinks the teen started going harder on him after Noct told him he thought Gladiolus sounded like a girls name. A soft name. The young warrior soon schooled him in more ways than one that the name meant sword.

Noct would often try to skip his sessions with Gladiolus only to be caught and drug to the training rooms by Ignis, Ravus or Cor. Their mutual dislike for each other grew until one day Noct stumbled across a young girl in the gardens. He didn’t recognize her and almost never saw children in the Citadel, so she instantly caught his eye. He followed her out through a utility exit and out into the city until it was dark and starting to rain. When he finally caught up with her she was muddy scared and crying. Her name was Iris and she said her brother was Gladdy. Gladdy… this was Gladiolus’ sister!? They went back to the Citadel together, but by the time they got back everyone was angry and looking for them. Noctis took all the blame. From then on, he and Iris became friends, and he and Gladio began to understand each other. That too grew into friendship over time.

And so went the true king’s childhood.  
Full of ups and downs.  
Heartbreak and brotherhood.  
Cultivating weakness to strength.  
All part of a plan ordained by the gods… or so they say.


End file.
